Weather Update

There is a saying in Sweden that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. I am beginning to understand what they mean. While the weather has been quite nice, warmer and less rainy then usual I can definitely feel the shitty weather of November slowly approaching. Every Swede I have talked to says that November is the worst month here in Sweden. It is supposedly cold and rainy all the time- bone chilling dampness.  

Rather than dwell on what is yet to come, I am focusing on living in the present moment. It seems that is what you must do. I have no control over the weather and therefore have stopped checking the forecast. Whatever happens- rain, sun, snow or fog my life will continue. It's all about wearing the appropriate clothing. I was in an outdoor store the other day and they were selling snow skirts, like snow pants but it was a skirt! You can be trendy and warm :)

Fall is in full swing. The leaves have changed and are beginning to fall littering the once green ground with warm shades of red and gold. As I ride my bike into town each day I smell the characteristic fragrences of fall- dry leaves, moist earth,  and bonfires. 

Speaking of moist earth, the humidity here is outrageous! For the past week the ground always looks as through it has just rained but it has not. The moisture in the air causes the ground to remain wet. It seems like the rain is coming out of the ground. In the evening you can actually see the moisture as the air temperature cools and the ground retains its warmth the moisture rise up creating and eerie swam-like fog. A perfect habitat for all the fairies and gnomes living in the forests.

This past week and the coming week is suppose to be in the low 50's during the day an only dropping down to the mid-to-low 40's at night. 

 The sun is now setting at 5:00 and does not rise until 8:00. After turning the clocks back this weekend the sun will be setting around 4:00. I am excited to see what it is going to be like! If the excitement wears off lucky for me I can go sit in the light room at the gym to boost my spirits! 

One final note- I saw the Aurora Borealis last night as I was ridding home from class!! The whole sky was pitch black except for one section which was glowing green. My friend said to me "whoa look at the sky I wonder why its so light over there?" We both stopped and realized it was the Northern Lights!! We shrieked and happily cycled home. 

I did not witness an amazing light show this time but I will continue to be on the look out and hopefully I will be able to capture on my camera!

First is the worst, Second is the BEST!

 Friday night I was invited to my first ever Fika Bake-Off!

A friend of a friend named Daniel who has this online magazine called GoGlocal (which Linnea and I will be writing a Fika Cafe review section for) hosted this wonderful gathering. A mix of different backgrounds, home counties and academic interest were present at this party. There were Russians, a South Africa, English Masters Students, a Colombian, Sustainable Development masters students... you name it they were probably there.

Anyway, everyone prepared some sort of dessert, we sliced, sampled and voted. 

Below is just a sample of the desserts created, a few more arrived after the photo was taken

Clockwise starting in far left corner: Apple Cake, Spice Cookies, Blueberry Tart, Brownies, Kladdkaka, Cheese and Jam Puffs, Russian Apple Cake, German Apple Cake, Raspberry Lemon Bar (made by us), Banana cake, Pineapple Pie.

 Items that went un-photographed include another fudgey chocolate brownie/tort, Blueberry upside-down cake (my personal favorite apart from my own) and a few more that I am forgetting.

Daniel instructing us to dig in!

Slicing Away!

After sampling nearly all of the desserts I had 3 clear favorites.

1. Raspberry Lemon Bars- Linnea, Amy & I

2. Blueberry Upsidedown cake-? didn't catch her name

3. Kladdkaka with berries on top- the Swede and South African Couple

Votes were cast (we each got to vote for our top two choices and we could vote for our own), votes were tallied and then drum roll please..... 

3rd place- The cheese and Jam puff (a Spanish treat)

2nd place- A tie between our Raspberry Lemon Bars and the Kladdkaka!

1st place- Pineapple Pie made by the host Martina

I have to admit I did not care for the pineapple pie. That is probably because I do not really like cooked pineapple but it seems to be a big thing here in Sweden. There are many sweets which feature pineapple. Two each their own. I am happy with second place because here in Sweden it is not about being number one. Everything is just logam. 

International Gasque

Pre-Gasque Photo Shoot:

I braided Linnea's hair

 

This Gasque (unlike the others) was for the International Students and for that reason it was missing the true Swedish Spirit that made the last gasque so much fun. I cannot say that I did not have a good time but  it was not the gasque itself that was fun. Like at all gasques you are assigned seats, usually in boy-girl-boy-girl order but when we walked in Linnea and I were extremely overwhelmed by the amount of drunken people and we lost all desire to socialize. Linnea found her spot and then came and stood next to me until my seat partner arrived. She politely asked if he would be willing to switch and he happily agreed because her seat was near some of his friends (how perfect!).

Lots of people. This was just 2/3 of the room.

Without Linnea by my side I don't think I would have made it through the evening. The entire night  felt like Linnea and I were watching a sitcom or a Saturday Night Live Skit. 

Across from me sat a girl from Scotland. She was bizarre. She left multiple times during the evening and each time she returned she would ask me the same questions, on of which was "Oh My God, are you a veggie??? AH me too!"

Next to her was a Swedish guy. He was nice and normal but fell into the trap of the girl next to him.

She was from California and everything about her screamed dumb valley girl (sorry to be so cynical, I am just setting the scene). She sang every song extremely loud, extremely off key, and faster than everyone else. She asked the dumbest questions and said the most outrageous things. For example she asked the Korean girl sitting across from her if she was from North or South Korea!

Linnea and I spent the entire evening hysterically laughing. We were nearly rolling around on the floor with laughter out of sheer disbelief. 

Now on the the food:

The Menu

Vegetarian Appetizer: Asparagus with Sprouts, Sunflower Seeds and Lingonberry Balsamic Sauce. Quite tasty.

It took so long for the vegetarian meal to arrive. I came out probably 25-30 minutes after everyone else had been served. By the time it finally arrived I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture until I had already started eating.

2 Portobella Mushrooms Stuffed with Feta Cheese, Ratatouille and Steams Broccoli and Cauliflower. So Good!

 Throughout the evening we were serenaded with various musical performances:

Traditional Folk Music.

Men's Choir singing to a girl chosen out of the audience. 

Oh and I almost forgot. One more weird thing happened. After dinner Linnea and I got up to go to the toilet and when we returned there was some loud Australian girl sitting in Linnea's seat. She saw Linnea approach and she was like "oh is this your seat? Just come sit on my lap!" Linnea looked at her and was like "uhh no that's okay." This somehow really offended the Australian girl. She said, to no one in particular "well jeez, I am just trying to be friendly but some people are just so rude!" She got up, moved a few seats down and proceed to tell all her friends what just happened and how unbelievable Linnea's response was.

 

What a night. 

Touring

On firday Lars took the CIEE students on a tour of the Uppsala Campus. This may seem silly since we have already been here for a month and a half and you would think we would know the campus by now but it is actually quite large a spread out. On our tour we were driven by taxi to several buildings I had never been to including the Angstrom Laboratory, the Agriculture School, the Nursing School, Bio Medical Center and then we drove down to see the lake.

Our first stop on the tour was the Uppsala Castle. From the Castle you have a lovely view of the city:

Looking down at the Botanical Gardens.

The Cathedral Looking Lovely in Fall Shades.

 Lake Mälaren:

 After our tour of the Uppsala Universoty Campus we drive out to Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala). Gamla Uppsala was an important ceremonial cite. It held a seat for the King and was home to royal palaces, royal burial cites and the pagan temple. Gamla Uppsala is thought to be the last stronghold of pagan kinship. The land is scattered with over 1000 burial mounds which include remains from the vikings and show evidence of human sacrifice. 

Before our tour of the museum and land we eat lunch.

Salmon with Boiled Potatoes, salad, Lemon Loka and Coffee. 

 We aslo got to sample Mead, a sweet honey flavored beer that is brewed following the original recipe from the viking age. 

The Museum was designed to be shaped like a viking ship and also an eye. From within the museum you have a panoramic view of the Burial Mounds; the eye is watching over the mounds.

"On display are finds from the royal mounds, tales of the ancient dynasties and pagan gods, and models of the landscape as it looked through history. Follow on a fascinating trip through the oceans of time, from 6th century local heathen kingdoms to the religious upheaval of the Viking era and the building of the cathedral beginning in the year 1100."- Museum Website

This was one of the most well designed museums I have been in. It was very aesthetically pleasing and had great displays and a great narrative.  

The Burial Mounds:

The 3 Royal Mounds

Burial Mounds

Greta... A viking at heart.

National Kanelbullar Day!

October 4th has been named National Kanelbullar Day!

Kanelbullar translates to cinnamon bun but cinnamon buns in Sweden are quite different from the American cinnabun. Dare I say the Americans buns do not hold a candle to their Swedish cousin. The Swedish bun is smaller, slightly dryer and less sticky and they are sprinkled with sugar pearls rather than being drowned in frosting.

Amy invite the CIEE gang over to her adorable apartment to bake Kanelbullar. It was a beautifully sunny autumn day, one of those rare fall days when you put on your shorts and forget that the cold dark winter is not far away. 

Greta workin' it.

Spreading the cinnamon love

Oh hey Greta

Amy rollin' out the dough with a juice bottle.

Sugar Pearls were added and they were ready for the oven.

Buns fresh out of the oven. She's too cute!

mmmm mmm

 After baking buns most of the CIEE kids (all but Linnea and I) had to go to Swedish class. Linnea and I stuck around and hung out with Amy for a few more hours. We had a really great conversation as usual. Amy is very insightful and so easy to talk to. Every time she, Linnea and I are together we have a great time. We can be serious or we can be silly but no matter what the mood, I always feel restored and confident after being with the two of them. I am so grateful for our friendship.

Mushroom Foraging

Sunday Morning we woke up, had breakfast and then set out to go mushroom hunting in the forest.

Book in hand, I was ready to go!

Entering the Forest.

After some time wondering in the forest we finally spotted the Cantrells!

Once we returend home we had to clean the mushrooms. 

Look at them all!!! 

Unbelievable

 

 

:-D